Footwear for use in connection with teaching

ABSTRACT

The present application is generally directed to an arrangement of first and second articles of footwear which may be used in a system or method for teaching a user a plurality of individual units according to a predetermined order. The arrangement is configured to sense movement of the feet of a user and to provide one of the individual units in response to each movement sensed of the first and second foot of a user. In an exemplary form, the arrangement may provide to the user, in proper order, the letters of the alphabet as the user walks or moves while wearing the articles of footwear.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to footwear and moreparticularly, to footwear including electronic components configured toassist children to learn.

BACKGROUND

Many methods and systems have been employed for teaching people. In somemanners, young children use books and/or videos to learn fundamentalconcepts, including for example, the letters of the alphabet andnumbers. In these manners, time must be specifically allotted for thechild to actively participate in learning these concepts. Footwearconsists of garments worn on the feet and are worn for a variety ofreasons including protection against the environment, hygiene andadornment. Several different types of footwear exist, but none are knownto include methods or devices that are designed to help individuals,such as children, learn.

SUMMARY

One embodiment of the present application discloses a footwear systemincluding devices configured to help individuals learn. Otherembodiments include unique apparatus, devices, systems, and methods forreproducing audio signals in footwear that are designed to help a childlearn. Further embodiments, forms, objects, features, advantages,aspects, and benefits of the present application shall become apparentfrom the detailed description and figures included herewith.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of an illustrative embodiment article of footwearfor use in a system for teaching according to the present application.

FIG. 2 is a partial cut-away diagrammatic view of the sole of thearticle of footwear illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view depicting the configuration of thecontroller of each article of footwear of the system of the presentapplication.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of theinvention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated inthe drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. Itwill nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of theinvention is thereby intended. Any such alterations and furthermodifications in the illustrated devices, and such further applicationsof the principles of the invention as illustrated herein arecontemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to whichthe invention relates.

The present application is generally directed to an arrangement of firstand second articles of footwear which may be used in a system or methodfor teaching a user, preferentially a child, a plurality of individualunits according to a predetermined order. The arrangement is configuredto sense movement of the feet of a user and to provide one of theindividual units in response to each movement sensed of the first andsecond foot of a user. In an exemplary form, the footwear may provide tothe user, in proper order, the letters of the alphabet as the user walksor moves while wearing the articles of footwear. Further detailsregarding the features of the arrangement of the first and secondarticles of footwear will be provided herein.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a side view of an articleof footwear 10 that includes a system for assisting a user in learning aplurality of individual units according to a predetermined order. Whileonly a single article of footwear 10 is illustrated in FIG. 1, it shouldbe appreciated that the systems and methods of the present applicationutilize two articles of footwear 10 and as such, a second article offootwear (not illustrated) including features similar to those describedherein with respect to article 10 would be included in one form. Article10 is illustrated in the form of a slide-on slipper and includes a soleportion 11 including a heel portion 14 opposite a toe portion 16. Toeportion 16 is enclosed by a foot cover 18 which extends around andcovers the toes and part of the foot of the user and holds article 10 onthe foot of the user. It is contemplated that article 10 in the form ofa slide-on slipper may include features in addition to or in lieu ofthose illustrated in FIG. 1. Additionally, it is contemplated thatarticle 10 may be configured or arranged as a sock, shoe, sandal,slipper, loafer, or boot in alternative embodiments.

Sole portion 11 of article 10 is shown in greater detail in a partialcut-away diagrammatic view in FIG. 2. Sole portion 11 includes a bottomportion 12 (see FIG. 1) and a top portion 13 between which, in one form,circuitry 19 is positioned. Circuitry 19 generally includesinterconnected sensor 20, controller 24, storage medium 28, speaker 32and power source 40. It is contemplated that in alternative embodimentsnot shown, circuitry 19 may include one or more components in additionto or in lieu of that illustrated in FIG. 2. It should further beunderstood that in various embodiments the componentry of circuitry 19may be arranged in one or more alternative fashions to that depicted inFIG. 2.

Sensor 20 is generally structured to detect movement of the foot of theuser upon which article 10 is worn. In one form, sensor 20 may be apressure sensor configured to detect a change in the weight of the userdistributed to the respective foot. For example, the change in weightdetected by sensor 20 may correspond to a step taken by the user withthe respective foot. In this form, sensor 20 may detect each of asuccessive series of movements made by the user. In response todetecting movement of the respective foot of the user, sensor 20generates a corresponding sensor signal that is conveyed along signalpathway 22 to controller 24.

Controller 24 operates in accordance with operating logic to provide anoutput signal in response to the sensor signal. In one form, controller24 is comprised of a microprocessor that includes one or more componentsthat may be configured as a single unit, or distributed among two ormore units. In other forms, controller 24 may comprise an applicationspecific integrated circuit (“ASIC”). In yet other forms, the controller24 may include analog circuitry, digital circuitry, and/or a hybridcombination of both of these types. In addition, in other forms,controller 24 is of the programmable variety that executes algorithmsand processes data in accordance with its operating logic being definedby programming instructions (such as software or firmware).Alternatively or additionally, the operating logic for controller 24 isat least partially defined by hardwired logic or other hardware. Furtherdetails regarding the operating logic of controller 24 will be providedbelow.

Controller 24 is connected with transceiver 46 via pathway 45 in orderto facilitate bidirectional communication between a first controller 24of a first article 10 and a second controller 24 of a second article 10.Transceiver 46 includes a transmitter and a receiver to performbidirectional communication between the first and second articles 10.The transmitter and receiver included in transceiver 46 may beindependent of one another or combined as an integral unit.

After controller 24 receives and processes the sensor signal from sensor20, a controller output signal is output along signal pathway 26 tostorage medium 28. Storage medium 28 is generally configured to store aplurality of individual units in a predetermined ordered. For example,in one form, the individual units stored by storage medium 28 areletters and the predetermined order corresponds to the order of thealphabet. In another form, the individual units stored by storage medium28 are numbers and the predetermined order corresponds to the sequentialorder of numbers, e.g. 1, 2, 3 . . . . In other embodiments, it iscontemplated that the individual units may be colors or may be letters,with the predetermined order of letters corresponding to the arrangementof the letters in a word, for example, the individual units for the word“THE” would be T, H, E. In this latter form, it is contemplated that theindividual unit preceding these letters and the individual unitfollowing these letters may correspond to the word “THE.” In yet anotherform, it is contemplated that storage medium 28 may be programmable tochange the individual units stored thereby or the order in which theindividual units are arranged. In one form, controller 24 isinterconnected with an external selector switch 50 to allow the user toselect between numbers and letters as the individual units.

Storage medium 28 is further configured to provide one of the individualunits in an audible format along pathway 33 to speaker 32 in response tothe controller output signal output along signal pathway 26. In oneform, storage medium 28 is connected with a digital-to-analog converter(“DAC”) 51 that converts a digital output from storage medium 28 into ananalog output signal that is used to drive speaker 32 via pathway 52. Inother forms, storage medium 28 comprises an ASIC that is operable togenerate an analog output signal capable of driving speaker 32. Itshould be appreciated that the individual unit provided by storagemedium 28 to speaker 32 will vary in accordance to the specific outputsignal provided by controller 24, further details of which shall beprovided below. Speaker 32 is structured to audibly broadcast theindividual unit to the user according to a standard format.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, circuitry 19 includes a power supply 40structured to send electrical power to sensor 20, controller 24, storagemedium 28, speaker 32 and/or transceiver 46, as needed. Only powersupply pathway 43 to controller 24 is illustrated. It should beappreciated that certain types of sensor 20, storage medium 28, speaker32 and/or transceiver 46 may derive any needed electrical power frompathways 22, 26, 33 and 45 as needed, and that in still otherembodiments such devices are passive, not needing any type of persistentelectrical power source. It is contemplated that power supply 40 is inthe form of one or more electrochemical cells or battery of such cells,such as one or more replaceable batteries. It is further contemplatedthat in other embodiments one or more of sensor 20, controller 24,storage medium 28, speaker 32 and transceiver 46, each includes its ownpower source. Power source 40 is also connected to switch 42 via pathway41. Switch 42 may be of any standard form and configured to bepositioned between an open position where power is not supplied tocircuitry 19 and a closed position where power is supplied to circuitry19.

The components of circuitry 19 including sensor 20, controller 24,storage medium 28, speaker 32 and transceiver 46 may be alternativelyinterconnected. For example, in one arrangement the components ofcircuitry 19 may be interconnected using wired or wireless techniqueswith corresponding signals structured in an appropriate fashion. In yetother forms, the components set forth above may be provided or combinedinto one or more ASICs.

In FIG. 3 there is depicted a diagrammatic view of the operating logicof controller 24 of the first article of footwear 10 and controller 24 aof a second article of footwear 10 a, where article 10 is worn on thefirst foot of the user and article 10 a is worn on the second foot ofthe user. It should be appreciated that article 10 a includes featuressimilar to those described above with respect to article 10. Thewireless interconnection between controllers 24, 24 a is also depictedin FIG. 3. In this illustrated embodiment, it should be appreciated thatcontrollers 24, 24 a are programmed with operating logic to be used withstorage medium 28 where the individual units are letters and thepredetermined order corresponds to the order of the alphabet. However,the operating logic depicted in FIG. 3 is also applicable to otherarrangements where, for example, the individual units and/orpredetermined order may vary.

At step 100 in FIG. 3, sensor 20 has sensed initial movement of thefirst foot of the user upon which article 10 is worn and has provided acorresponding sensor signal via pathway 22 to controller 24 of article10. It should be appreciated that movement of the second foot of theuser has not been sensed at stage 100. In response to receiving thissensor signal, controller 24 is programmed to provide an output signalcorresponding to the first individual unit, in this example the letter“A,” such that in response to this output signal storage medium 28provides the first individual unit “A” in an audible format and speaker32 broadcasts the letter “A” to the user. At step 100, controller 24 isalso programmed to increment I to the next individual unit of thepredetermined order, which in this example is “B”. In this manner,controller 24 of article 10 will provide an output signal correspondingto the individual unit “B” if the next movement of either of the firstfoot or the second foot of the user is made by the first foot and sensor20 of article 10 detects such movement. Controller 24 of article 10 isalso programmed to provide a wireless signal I_(W) to controller 24 a ofarticle 10 a to instruct controller 24 a to increment to the nextindividual unit of the predetermined order, which in this example is“B”. In this manner, controller 24 a of article 10 a will provide anoutput signal corresponding to “B” to storage medium 28 a if the nextmovement of either of the first foot and the second foot of the user ismade by the second foot and sensor 20 a or article 10 a detects suchmovement.

At step 200 illustrated in FIG. 3, the next movement of either the firstfoot or the second foot of the user has been made by the user and sensedby sensor 20 a of article 10 a. Sensor 20 a has provided a correspondingsensor signal via pathway 22 a to controller 24 a of article 10 a. Inresponse to receiving this sensor signal, controller 24 a, which wasalready incremented to provide an output signal corresponding to thenext individual unit “B” at step 100, provides an output signalcorresponding to “B” to storage medium 28 a. In response to this outputsignal, storage medium 28 a provides the individual unit “B” in anaudible format to speaker 32 a and speaker 32 a broadcasts the letter“B” to the user.

Controller 24 a is also programmed to increment I to the next individualunit of the predetermined order, which in the illustrated example is theletter “C”. In this manner, controller 24 a of article 10 a will providean output signal corresponding to the individual unit “C” if the nextmovement of either of the first foot or the second foot of the user ismade by the second foot and sensor 20 a detects such movement.Controller 24 a of article 10 a is also programmed to provide a wirelesssignal I_(W) to controller 24 of article 10 to instruct controller 24 toincrement to the next individual unit of the predetermined order, whichin this example is the letter “C”. In this manner, controller 24 ofarticle 10 will provide an output signal corresponding to the individualunit “C” if the next movement of either of the first foot or the secondfoot of the user is made by the first foot and sensor 20 of article 10detects such movement.

In this arrangement, as a person walks and alternates steps between thefirst foot and the second foot, the individual letters of the alphabetwill be alternatingly supplied by the first and second articles offootwear but in accordance with the order of the alphabet. Furthermore,this operating logic allows one of the articles 10, 10 a to provideconsecutive ones of the individual units according to the predeterminedorder. For example, in the situation where a user hops on the first foottwice and then steps with the second foot, the first article 10 willprovide two individual units according to the predetermined order andthen the second article 10 a will provide the next individual unit ofthe predetermined order.

In various situations, controllers 24, 24 a may be instructed toincrement I and also receive wireless signal I_(W) instructing thecontroller to increment to the next individual unit. In thesesituations, controllers 24, 24 a are programmed to provide an outputsignal corresponding to one of the individual units and respond only tothe instruction to increment I. Thus, controllers 24, 24 a would onlyincrement to the next individual unit rather than increment twiceconsecutively. For example, in the event that a user simultaneouslyjumps with both feet and sensor 20 detects movement of the first foot atthe same time sensor 20 a detects movement of the second foot,controllers 24, 24 a will each broadcast the same individual unit to theuser while only incrementing to the next individual unit.

It should be appreciated that controllers 24, 24 a are configured torepeat step 200 until they have provided an output signal correspondingto every individual unit stored by storage medium 28, 28 a, at whichpoint the controllers are programmed to restart at the first individualunit of the predetermined order. For example, with respect to theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, controllers 24, 24 a would repeat step200 until they have provided an output signal corresponding to theletter “Z”, at which point controllers 24, 24 a would restart at step100 where they are programmed to provide an output signal correspondingto the first individual unit of the predetermined order, the letter “A”.It is also contemplated that controllers 24, 24 a may restart with step100 before providing an output signal corresponding to the lastindividual unit of the predetermined order. For example, as illustratedin FIG. 2 with respect to controller 24 (and also applicable tocontroller 24 a), a reset button 36 is connected with controller 24 viapathway 37. Upon activation of reset button 36, the controller 24 isprogrammed to restart to provide an output signal corresponding to thefirst individual unit of the predetermined order, in this example theletter “A”, in response to the first movement sensed after activation ofthe reset button. It should be appreciated that if only one ofcontrollers 24, 24 a is reset, the controller which is reset canwirelessly instruct the other controller to reset and restart with step100 in order to provide an output signal corresponding to the firstindividual unit of the predetermined order in response to the firstmovement sensed after receiving instructions to reset and restart withstep 100.

There is provided systems and methods that incorporate first and secondarticles of footwear configured to be worn by a user and assist the userin learning individual units according to a predetermined order. In anexemplary form, the individual units correspond to letters and thepredetermined order corresponds to the order of the alphabet.

According to one aspect, a system for teaching including an arrangementof a first article of footwear configured to be worn on a first foot ofa user and a second article of footwear configured to be worn on asecond foot of the user is provided. Each of the first and secondarticles of footwear includes a sensor configured to detect movement ofthe respective foot of the user and provide a corresponding sensorsignal; a controller configured to provide an output signal in responseto the sensor signal; a storage medium for storing a plurality ofindividual units in a predetermined order, the storage medium beingconfigured to provide one of the individual units in an audible formatin response to the output signal; and a speaker configured to broadcastthe individual unit to the user. In response to each movement sensed ofthe first foot and the second foot of the user, the arrangement of thefirst and second articles of footwear successively broadcasts one of theindividual units to the user according to the predetermined order. Inone form, the movement sensed corresponds to alternating movementbetween the first foot and the second foot of the user.

According to another aspect, a system for teaching is provided whichincludes an arrangement of a first article of footwear and a secondarticle of footwear. The first and second articles of footwear areconfigured to be worn on a first and second foot of a user,respectively. Each of the articles of footwear also includes a storagemedium for storing a plurality of individual units in a predeterminedorder. The arrangement of the first and second articles of footwear alsoincludes means for broadcasting the individual units to the useraccording to the predetermined order in response to a series of movementof one or both of the first foot and the second foot of the user.

According to a further aspect, a method for teaching is provided whichincludes providing a first article of footwear configured to be worn ona first foot of a user and a second article of footwear configured to beworn on a second foot of the user, each of the first and second articlesof footwear including a sensor configured to detect a movement of therespective foot of the user and a storage medium for storing a pluralityof individual units in a predetermined order; sensing a movement of oneor both of the first foot and the second foot of the user with thesensor of the respective article of footwear; and in response to eachmovement sensed, successively providing an output to the usercorresponding to one of the individual units according to thepredetermined order.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in thedrawings and foregoing description, the same is to be consideredillustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood thatonly selected embodiments have been shown and described and that allchanges, equivalents, and modifications that come within the scope ofthe inventions described herein or defined by the following claims aredesired to be protected. Any experiments, experimental examples, orexperimental results provided herein are intended to be illustrative ofthe present invention and should not be construed to limit or restrictthe invention scope. Further, any theory, mechanism of operation, proof,or finding stated herein is meant to further enhance understanding ofthe present invention and is not intended to limit the present inventionin any way to such theory, mechanism of operation, proof, or finding. Inreading the claims, words such as “a”, “an”, “at least on”, and “atleast a portion” are not intended to limit the claims to only one itemunless specifically stated to the contrary. Further, when the language“at least a portion” and/or “a portion” is used, the claims may includea portion and/or the entire item unless specifically stated to thecontrary.

1. A system for teaching, comprising: an arrangement of a first articleconfigured to be worn on a first foot of a user and a second articleconfigured to be worn on a second foot of the user, wherein each of thefirst and second articles includes: a sensor configured to detectmovement of the respective foot of the user and provide a correspondingsensor signal; a controller configured to provide an output signal inresponse to the sensor signal; a storage medium for storing a pluralityof individual units in a predetermined order, the storage medium beingconfigured to provide one of the individual units in an audible formatin response to the output signal; and a speaker configured to broadcastthe individual unit to the user; and wherein the arrangement of thefirst and second articles successively broadcasts one of the individualunits to the user according to the predetermined order in response toeach movement sensed of the first foot and the second foot of the user.2. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller of the first article iswirelessly connected with the controller of the second article.
 3. Thesystem of claim 2, wherein the controller of the first article and thesecond article are configured to provide an output signal correspondingto a first unit of the predetermined order in response to an initialmovement of one of the first foot or the second foot of the user beingsensed by the respective article.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein inresponse to the initial movement and each subsequent movement of one ofthe first foot or the second foot of the user, the controller of each ofthe first article and the second article is configured to: respond toeach movement sensed by the respective article of footwear byincrementing to the next unit of the predetermined order to provide anoutput signal corresponding to the next unit of the predetermined orderin response to the next movement sensed; wirelessly transmit to thecontroller of the other article an incrementing signal instructing theother controller to increment to the next unit of the predeterminedorder; and increment to the next unit of the predetermined order inresponse to the incrementing signal if the movement of the user was notsensed by the respective article.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein eachof the first and second articles includes a reset button coupled withits respective controller, said controller being responsive toactivation of the reset button to restart the output signal tocorrespond to the first unit of the predetermined order in response tothe first movement sensed after activation of the reset button.
 6. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the sensor is a pressure sensor configured toprovide the sensor signal in response to detecting a change in theweight of the user distributed to a respective foot.
 7. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the first and second articles are selected from thegroup consisting of socks, sandals, shoes, slippers and boots.
 8. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the individual units comprise letters of thealphabet and the predetermined order corresponds to the order of thealphabet.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the individual unitscomprise numbers and the predetermined order corresponds to a sequentialorder of the numbers.
 10. A system for teaching, comprising: anarrangement of a first article of footwear configured to be worn on afirst foot of a user and a second article of footwear configured to beworn on a second foot of a user, wherein each of the first and secondarticles of footwear includes a storage medium for storing a pluralityof individual units in a predetermined order and the arrangement of thefirst and second articles of footwear includes means for broadcastingthe individual units to the user according to the predetermined order inresponse to a series of movement of one or both of the first foot andthe second foot of the user.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein theindividual units comprise numbers and the predetermined ordercorresponds to a sequential listing of the numbers.
 12. The system ofclaim 10, wherein the individual units comprise letters of the alphabetand the predetermined order corresponds to the order of the alphabet.13. The system of claim 10, wherein the individual units are letters andthe predetermined order corresponds to the spelling of a word includingthe letters.
 14. The system of claim 10, wherein the movement includesalternating movement between the first foot of the user and the secondfoot of the user.
 15. A method for teaching, comprising: providing afirst article of footwear configured to be worn on a first foot of auser and a second article of footwear configured to be worn on a secondfoot of the user, each of the first and second articles of footwearincluding a sensor configured to detect a movement of the respectivefoot of the user and a storage medium for storing a plurality ofindividual units in a predetermined order; sensing a movement of one orboth of the first foot and the second foot of the user with the sensorof the respective article of footwear; and in response to each movementsensed, successively providing an output to the user corresponding toone of the individual units according to the predetermined order. 16.The method of claim 15, wherein said output comprises broadcasting eachof the individual units in an audible format.
 17. The method of claim15, wherein the sensing includes detecting a change in the weight of theuser distributed to the respective foot.
 18. The method of claim 15,wherein the movement includes alternating movement between the firstfoot of the user and the second foot of the user.
 19. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the first and second articles of footwear are selectedfrom the group consisting of socks, shoes, slippers, sandals and boots.20. The method of claim 15, further comprising syncing each article offootwear such that each article of footwear is aware of the next unit inthe predetermined order.